The Past Has Said Goodby to Us
Q & A between Sonja Ernst and Ou Ning
Sonja Ernst: You did a research and filming project on Da Zha Lan, a traditional quarter in the central of Beijing. Why did you choose Da Zha Lan?
Ou Ning: We are always concerned about the areas with high density of architecture and poor people in the center of expanding metropolitans in China. From our point of view, the phenomenon is a brother of the social, political, econimic and cultural problems brought by China’s urbanization process. In 2003, we had a documentary and research project concerning such an area named San Yuan Li in Guangzhou, a major city in south China. (The project was part of the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003). In 2005, we got the financial support from Kulturstiftung des Bundes to research the fast expanding Beijing pushed by 2008 Olympics. We spent over a month to visit and investigate different places around the capital. In the end, an area, named Da Zha Lan, close to Tian’anmen Square became our destination. It’s a slum located in the very heart of Beijing, full of aged architecture and migrant people with low income. It’s exactly what we have been looking for.
Sonja Ernst: What are the main problems in Da Zha Lan today?
Ou Ning: The main problem of Da Zha Lan is it’s decaying at an amazing speed. It used to be the most important commercial area in Beijing. In Ming and Qing Dynasty, it’s the most active area of the old Beijing, full of shops and patrons. Even after socialism period’s arrival in 1949, it still kept many a few stores and facilities, as a witness to the prosperity of the capital. Things started to change in 1990s when Beijing moved it’s center to the east for new space of its expansion. Large amount of investment swarmed to Chaoyang District. Because of its close distance to Tian’anmen Square, Da Zha Lan can’t have buildings higher than the ancient architecture in Forbidden City. This severely reduced the benefits of developers. Unbalanced development of different areas in Beijing appeared. The east is changing everyday while the south where Da Zha Lan is stopped its development steps. It is the conflict between historical protection and city development that Da Zha Lan has been suffering. What’s worse, the government itself is not capable to carry this big burden while China’s property rights and tax system didn’t give civil capital enough confidence to invest in this area. As a result, the municipal and public facilities can’t be updated on time. Elites kept moving out. Rent and life index kept falling down. Migrant people with low income swarmed in. The former golden commercial area in the end became a slum.
Sonja Ernst: Beijing is undergoing a tremendous change. Since the 1990s the city is booming: skyscrapers, new business and commercial districts are rising almost everywhere. How do the citizens of Beijing feel about these changes?
Ou Ning: Most Beijingers are happy to see Beijing become a metropolitan. Compared with their former houses( courtyards shared by many families, with great risk to catch fire and without private bathrooms), they obviously prefer those modern apartments with well equiped toilets and kitchens and security guards. Maybe they still feel nostalgic about their old homes from time to time but few would really like to move back. They like to work in high-end office buldings and go shopping in super malls. Only during traditional festivals like Chinese New Year will they remember Da Zha Lan and buy something of old style as a souvenir there. It’s not sure whether the new life style seduced them or their needs from heart led to today’s life. Ironicly, only very rich people can afford those old courtyards today. They bought one as a whole and moved the habitants there away. Modern facilites are added to make it comfortable to live in. When everything is trying to be standarized, the hutong(old,narrow alleys with courtyards alongside them in Beijing) life has become a luxury. It’s a trememdous cost to chase after modernization for a city or a country. We sacrificed our history and memory for the so-called progress. We invested enormous social and environment cost for the so-called development. When we hug the moderniztion, we realized the past has said goodbye to us. When we spend all we have for a new dream, we realised what we had is actually invaluable. This is the paradox of history.
Sonja Ernst: Where do you see the main improvements by modernization and city growth for the people?
Ou Ning: Modernization and urbanization have largely changed people’s spirits and views. With strong economic drive, the government confiscates more rural land for city development or introduce new urban planning for old city areas to redistribute social resources when building new municipal and public facilities. This process is entangled with severe conflict of interests and views. People’s consciousness of their rights become stronger in such a fast changing age. They get more involved in public affairs to protect their own interests. They demand to build a justified and au pair society. Such participation is spontaneous instead of forced by the nation like before. Citizens dare to critisize the urban planning policies of the governments more and more and fight for their rights when inequity happens in the compensation process of confistication and relocation. A citizen society who spontaneously supervise the city with a sense of self-identity and ownership, though with lots of trouble in the beginning, is forming steadily. This will be the most important achievement of China.
Sonja Ernst: Beijing will host the Olympic Games in 2008. Will this huge event only imply new constructions sites like the Olympic Park? Or will it change the urban mentality of people in Beijing as well?
Ou Ning: The 2008 Olympics will an accelerator for Beijing’s urbanization. It has not only brought symbolic architecture but also stimulated Beijing’s real estate market and increased the prices. It has not only improved the city’s air quality and transporation but also brought more population. It has not only aroused the taxi drivers’ passion to learn English but also made IT, media and creative industry hot careers. It’s a huge opportunity for China’s central government to rebuild the nation’s identity in the globalization age. It also comes as a political jetten to exchange critism and threat from international society. Nevertheless, the upcoming Olympics will not only increase Beijinger’s confidence hundreds of times but also indulge Chinese people into crazy imagination for the dragon’s resurrecting and a super nation dream in 21 century.
Sonja Ernst: Besides Beijing, China has one more booming mega city: Shanghai. What are the main differences of growth and urban developing regarding the two cities?
Ou Ning: Shanghai is an economic city. It doesn’t have obvious center in its urban planning. Beijing is a political city. As the center of power in China, it’s expanded with ringroads surrouding the imperial palace. Shanghai’s urban area has smaller roads, denser road nets, better traffic conditions for walking. Beijing features large roads as the backbones of transportation with less density of regional roads. Traffic jams happen often and there is little space for pedestrians. Shanghai cherishes western values with strong commercial atmosphere. It’s devoted to continuing the spiritual heritage from early capitalism and keep a fresh image in today’s global competition. Also on the way to internationaliztion, Beijing still believes the enormous power of tradition and its prospect of regeneration. It has values of more varieties and interest with boomming culture industry. Shanghai stays at a secondary place speaking of politics with a relatively conservative attitude and limited political development space. Beijing is China’s political center. The important organs of the nation are all here. Thus, it’s magnificent and it can decide China’s destiny.
Sonja Ernst: Mr. Ou Ning, what do you like most about Beijing?
Ou Ning: Beijing’s casual and frank personality is my favourite. To live here, I can follow my heart without chasing after the trend and the unified standards. In Beijing, you can live isolatedly or join as many social networks as you can. No matter what kind of person you are, what kind of life you live, nobody would consider you strange and bother you. In addition, Beijing keeps both its old and grows its new at the same time. This confict is very charming. It brings inspiration and passion for your life everyday. This is the main reason why I moved from Guangzhou to Beijing last year.
The answers are translated from Chinese by April Zhang.
Sonja Ernst, journalist, working for the Federal Agency for Civic Education, Cologne, Germany
Please click here for German Version.
Q & A between Sonja Ernst and Ou Ning
Sonja Ernst: You did a research and filming project on Da Zha Lan, a traditional quarter in the central of Beijing. Why did you choose Da Zha Lan?
Ou Ning: We are always concerned about the areas with high density of architecture and poor people in the center of expanding metropolitans in China. From our point of view, the phenomenon is a brother of the social, political, econimic and cultural problems brought by China’s urbanization process. In 2003, we had a documentary and research project concerning such an area named San Yuan Li in Guangzhou, a major city in south China. (The project was part of the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003). In 2005, we got the financial support from Kulturstiftung des Bundes to research the fast expanding Beijing pushed by 2008 Olympics. We spent over a month to visit and investigate different places around the capital. In the end, an area, named Da Zha Lan, close to Tian’anmen Square became our destination. It’s a slum located in the very heart of Beijing, full of aged architecture and migrant people with low income. It’s exactly what we have been looking for.
Sonja Ernst: What are the main problems in Da Zha Lan today?
Ou Ning: The main problem of Da Zha Lan is it’s decaying at an amazing speed. It used to be the most important commercial area in Beijing. In Ming and Qing Dynasty, it’s the most active area of the old Beijing, full of shops and patrons. Even after socialism period’s arrival in 1949, it still kept many a few stores and facilities, as a witness to the prosperity of the capital. Things started to change in 1990s when Beijing moved it’s center to the east for new space of its expansion. Large amount of investment swarmed to Chaoyang District. Because of its close distance to Tian’anmen Square, Da Zha Lan can’t have buildings higher than the ancient architecture in Forbidden City. This severely reduced the benefits of developers. Unbalanced development of different areas in Beijing appeared. The east is changing everyday while the south where Da Zha Lan is stopped its development steps. It is the conflict between historical protection and city development that Da Zha Lan has been suffering. What’s worse, the government itself is not capable to carry this big burden while China’s property rights and tax system didn’t give civil capital enough confidence to invest in this area. As a result, the municipal and public facilities can’t be updated on time. Elites kept moving out. Rent and life index kept falling down. Migrant people with low income swarmed in. The former golden commercial area in the end became a slum.
Sonja Ernst: Beijing is undergoing a tremendous change. Since the 1990s the city is booming: skyscrapers, new business and commercial districts are rising almost everywhere. How do the citizens of Beijing feel about these changes?
Ou Ning: Most Beijingers are happy to see Beijing become a metropolitan. Compared with their former houses( courtyards shared by many families, with great risk to catch fire and without private bathrooms), they obviously prefer those modern apartments with well equiped toilets and kitchens and security guards. Maybe they still feel nostalgic about their old homes from time to time but few would really like to move back. They like to work in high-end office buldings and go shopping in super malls. Only during traditional festivals like Chinese New Year will they remember Da Zha Lan and buy something of old style as a souvenir there. It’s not sure whether the new life style seduced them or their needs from heart led to today’s life. Ironicly, only very rich people can afford those old courtyards today. They bought one as a whole and moved the habitants there away. Modern facilites are added to make it comfortable to live in. When everything is trying to be standarized, the hutong(old,narrow alleys with courtyards alongside them in Beijing) life has become a luxury. It’s a trememdous cost to chase after modernization for a city or a country. We sacrificed our history and memory for the so-called progress. We invested enormous social and environment cost for the so-called development. When we hug the moderniztion, we realized the past has said goodbye to us. When we spend all we have for a new dream, we realised what we had is actually invaluable. This is the paradox of history.
Sonja Ernst: Where do you see the main improvements by modernization and city growth for the people?
Ou Ning: Modernization and urbanization have largely changed people’s spirits and views. With strong economic drive, the government confiscates more rural land for city development or introduce new urban planning for old city areas to redistribute social resources when building new municipal and public facilities. This process is entangled with severe conflict of interests and views. People’s consciousness of their rights become stronger in such a fast changing age. They get more involved in public affairs to protect their own interests. They demand to build a justified and au pair society. Such participation is spontaneous instead of forced by the nation like before. Citizens dare to critisize the urban planning policies of the governments more and more and fight for their rights when inequity happens in the compensation process of confistication and relocation. A citizen society who spontaneously supervise the city with a sense of self-identity and ownership, though with lots of trouble in the beginning, is forming steadily. This will be the most important achievement of China.
Sonja Ernst: Beijing will host the Olympic Games in 2008. Will this huge event only imply new constructions sites like the Olympic Park? Or will it change the urban mentality of people in Beijing as well?
Ou Ning: The 2008 Olympics will an accelerator for Beijing’s urbanization. It has not only brought symbolic architecture but also stimulated Beijing’s real estate market and increased the prices. It has not only improved the city’s air quality and transporation but also brought more population. It has not only aroused the taxi drivers’ passion to learn English but also made IT, media and creative industry hot careers. It’s a huge opportunity for China’s central government to rebuild the nation’s identity in the globalization age. It also comes as a political jetten to exchange critism and threat from international society. Nevertheless, the upcoming Olympics will not only increase Beijinger’s confidence hundreds of times but also indulge Chinese people into crazy imagination for the dragon’s resurrecting and a super nation dream in 21 century.
Sonja Ernst: Besides Beijing, China has one more booming mega city: Shanghai. What are the main differences of growth and urban developing regarding the two cities?
Ou Ning: Shanghai is an economic city. It doesn’t have obvious center in its urban planning. Beijing is a political city. As the center of power in China, it’s expanded with ringroads surrouding the imperial palace. Shanghai’s urban area has smaller roads, denser road nets, better traffic conditions for walking. Beijing features large roads as the backbones of transportation with less density of regional roads. Traffic jams happen often and there is little space for pedestrians. Shanghai cherishes western values with strong commercial atmosphere. It’s devoted to continuing the spiritual heritage from early capitalism and keep a fresh image in today’s global competition. Also on the way to internationaliztion, Beijing still believes the enormous power of tradition and its prospect of regeneration. It has values of more varieties and interest with boomming culture industry. Shanghai stays at a secondary place speaking of politics with a relatively conservative attitude and limited political development space. Beijing is China’s political center. The important organs of the nation are all here. Thus, it’s magnificent and it can decide China’s destiny.
Sonja Ernst: Mr. Ou Ning, what do you like most about Beijing?
Ou Ning: Beijing’s casual and frank personality is my favourite. To live here, I can follow my heart without chasing after the trend and the unified standards. In Beijing, you can live isolatedly or join as many social networks as you can. No matter what kind of person you are, what kind of life you live, nobody would consider you strange and bother you. In addition, Beijing keeps both its old and grows its new at the same time. This confict is very charming. It brings inspiration and passion for your life everyday. This is the main reason why I moved from Guangzhou to Beijing last year.
The answers are translated from Chinese by April Zhang.
Sonja Ernst, journalist, working for the Federal Agency for Civic Education, Cologne, Germany
Please click here for German Version.
[最后修改由 OUNING, 于 2008-07-24 01:23:28]
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